MTTF and availability of semi-Markov missions with non-identical generally distributed component lifetimes

Abstract

We analyze mean time to failure and availability of systems that perform semi-Markov missions. The mission process is the minimal semi-Markov process associated with a Markov renewal process. Therefore, the successive phases of the mission follow a Markov chain, and the phase durations are generally distributed. The lifetimes of the non-identical components in the system are assumed to be generally distributed and are modeled using intrinsic aging concepts. Moreover, the lifetime parameters of the components and the configuration of the system change depending on the phases of the mission. We characterize the mean time to failure through solving a Poisson equation, and we analyze the system availability assuming that repair duration has a general distribution which is dependent on the phase of the mission during which the failure has occurred and on the deterioration level of the system.